Fact Check by Logically Facts
The verdict [Misleading]
Asaduddin Owaisi was garlanded by a priest during his door-to-door election campaign in Malkapet, Hyderabad, and not inside a temple. Therefore, the claim is false.
A social media user shared a photo claiming that Asaduddin Owaisi, the Member of Parliament from Hyderabad and Chief of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM), visited a temple during his election campaign. However, this claim was found to be misleading in a fact check.
Claim made
A social media user shared a photo claiming that Asaduddin Owaisi visited a temple during his election campaign. It should be noted that Owaisi, a four-time MP and the candidate from the Hyderabad parliamentary constituency, is contesting against the BJP's Madhavi Latha this year. He is conducting a door-to-door campaign ahead of the May 13 elections.
The shared photo showed Owaisi wearing a garland and standing next to a priest. The user shared this photo with a caption alleging that he visited a temple due to pressure from the BJP. Some posts related to this can be found archived here and here.
Screenshot of the misleading post of Asaduddin Owaisi.
However, the claim is misleading. This image is part of Owaisi's door-to-door election campaign and does not depict him visiting a temple.
Verification of claim
A reverse image search of this photo led us to the official Twitter account of AIMIM, where on May 2, 2024, a post (archived here) shared this photo of Owaisi's door-to-door election campaign in Malkapet and Indira Nagar, areas of the Hyderabad parliamentary constituency. In the post, it was mentioned that these pictures were taken during the campaign of Asaduddin Owaisi, the candidate from the Hyderabad parliamentary constituency, and Balala Ahmed, the MLA from Malkajgiri.
Screenshot of the X post of AIMIM.
Logical Facts contacted Asaduddin Owaisi's Public Relations Officer (PRO), Tausif Mohammad, who said that the image of Owaisi was taken in Saraswati Nagar, Malkapet. He said that it was part of a door-to-door campaign conducted on May 2, 2024.
Several news channels also published videos of Owaisi's campaign. In a YouTube video published by The Print on May 2, 2024, a priest can be seen taking a photo with Owaisi, garlanding him, and presenting him with a saffron shawl. The priest also congratulated another person standing next to Owaisi.
Mohammad shared a video with us, which showed the same visuals from a different angle. In this video, we can see a person wearing a cap garlanding Owaisi while he is campaigning door-to-door.
We also found similar visuals on other news channels. A local news website, Siyasat, reported on Owaisi's election campaign and mentioned that he was garlanded during the door-to-door campaign.
We also found a ground report from another Telugu news outlet, RTV Telugu. Their reporter, Devika, visited the area where Owaisi was garlanded. In the video report, she can be seen walking on the streets and talking to residents of the area. We can see the same brown gate shown in the viral post in the video report. The video report confirms that the location of the viral video is a street in Malkapet.
The comparison shows that Owaisi was garlanded not inside the temple but on the road.
Devika also confirmed to us that Owaisi was garlanded near the residence of a former councillor, not in a temple. She also told us that the priest lived nearby and came to meet Owaisi during the door-to-door campaign.
From the above evidence, it is clear that the photo was taken during Owaisi's door-to-door campaign. All the videos seen by Logical Facts also show that the incident took place on the street.
Result: Misleading
Reference links:
Twitter - AIMIM
The Siasat Daily- Watch: Hindu priest garlands Owaisi during campaign in Hyderabad - The Siasat Daily
RTV Telgu- గుడికి పొతే భయపడినట్లా.. ఒవైసీ గురించి పబ్లిక్ టాక్ వింటే.! - RTV Ground report
(Disclaimer: This story was originally published by Logically Facts, and republished by India TV as part of the Shakti Collective.)
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